The Brooks Review

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Leica Sofort 2June 13, 2024
Grand Seiko SBGX261February 23, 2023
Casio Duro MDV-106 Re-ReviewDecember 15, 2022

Recent Articles

  • Allow me to introduce Charles

    Basically every cheap and free app is violating your privacy in ways you didn’t expect.

    There’s long been a development tool called “Charles” and in simple terms (as I understand it for you readers, not developers) it’s a way to see what you are sending over the network from software projects you are developing. Think of it as a way to debug where the problem lies in a piece of software (am I sending the wrong data, to the wrong place, or everything from the app is fine). Just a bit ago Charles Proxy came out for iOS, and it’s pretty amazing and terrifying at the same time.

    What [Charles for iOS](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/charles-proxy/id1134218562?mt=8&uo=4&at=1l3v36d) allows you to do is to create a *local* VPN proxy, which sends all your network traffic on your device through the Charles app — thus allowing it to see everything sent, and record that for you. This data doesn’t leave your device, it’s not some remote server providing the logs, it’s all local. This is kind of like running Little Snitch on your Mac, except it’s a log and not a tool you can use to block stuff.

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  • GORUCK GR1 Workshop

    GORUCK has been teasing this for a bit and it’s finally here, a workshop for the GR1. You can customize the GR1 in a few unique ways and get it in August. I got the one with all the options, but I’ll admit that slick variant looks awesome too. Great stuff, wish I could get…

    GORUCK has been teasing this for a bit and it’s finally here, a workshop for the GR1. You can customize the GR1 in a few unique ways and get it in August. I got the one with all the options, but I’ll admit that slick variant looks awesome too. Great stuff, wish I could get both variants, but that’d be crazy, right?

  • What smartphone photography is doing to our memories

    Brian Resnick: Barasch and her colleagues have found evidence that taking pictures to share on social media changes our perspective within our memories. That is: When we’re taking photos to share on social media, we’re more likely to remember the moment from a third-person perspective.

    Brian Resnick:

    Barasch and her colleagues have found evidence that taking pictures to share on social media changes our perspective within our memories. That is: When we’re taking photos to share on social media, we’re more likely to remember the moment from a third-person perspective.

  • The real threat to Facebook is the Kool-Aid turning sour

    Good read.

    Good read.

  • Lum-Tec B38 GMT

    A new go to watch for me.

    The first thing we need to get out of the way is that this is a quartz watch. I wrote a bit about my evolving thinking about quartz versus mechanical watches, here. Basically, the lack of accuracy and the delicacy of mechanical movements can make bad options for watches when used particular ways. More than that, I wanted something which could be a better everyday watch, which can blend in many circumstances, while looking sharp.

    This is where the Steinhart Ocean Vintage Military failed me: has lovely as the watch is, it really only worked with a couple NATO straps and the bracelet it came on. But it had one feature I didn’t want to lose: great lume on the hands and dials. I could read the time at 4am without squinting.

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  • Fooling Facial Recognition with Infrared Light

    This is feels like something Q would cook up.

    This is feels like something Q would cook up.

  • Watch Water Resistance

    A few quick notes on what water resistance means to me with watches.

    I’ve been talking about watches a bit recently, and will keep doing so for a bit longer, so I thought a quick post on what water resistance ratings mean to me would be handy to post.

    The first thing to note is that no watch is really “waterproof” which is why you see the term “water resistant” and typically this is given in one of two metrics. As a pressure metric, 10bar/ATM (I’ve seen it both ways, no clue) water resistance, or as a depth, 100m water resistant. Both of those are the same (because of how watches are tested) what is being tested is how resistant the watch is to pressure from water. The deeper you go in the ocean, for example, the more pressure is being exerted on the watch.

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  • Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica problems are nothing compared to what’s coming for all of online publishing

    Also on the Facebook front, this post from Doc Searls is great: Giant Irony Alert: the same is true for the Times, along with every other publication that lives off adtech: surveillance-based advertising. These pubs don’t just open the kimonos of their readers. They treat them as naked beings whose necks are bared to vampires…

    Also on the Facebook front, this post from Doc Searls is great:

    Giant Irony Alert: the same is true for the Times, along with every other publication that lives off adtech: surveillance-based advertising. These pubs don’t just open the kimonos of their readers. They treat them as naked beings whose necks are bared to vampires ravenous for the blood of personal data, all ostensibly so those persons can be served with “interest-based” advertising.

  • Facebook and Russia Have a Deep Connection

    Now this is a comment on Reddit, so let’s be upfront about that, but the redditor has plenty of sources to back up what he says — quite interesting. I feel like I knew most of this, but never connected the dots on it. (In case you are not a Reddit person, scroll to the…

    Now this is a comment on Reddit, so let’s be upfront about that, but the redditor has plenty of sources to back up what he says — quite interesting. I feel like I knew most of this, but never connected the dots on it. (In case you are not a Reddit person, scroll to the LONG comment from Puffin_Fitness.

  • Happy Hacking Keyboard Pro 2 review: a typing hipster’s dream

    Speaking of small and expensive keyboards, here’s another good read. (h/t to Julia.)

    Speaking of small and expensive keyboards, here’s another good read.

    (h/t to Julia.)

  • Why I Love Compact Mechanical Keyboards and You Will Too

    A good read, I’m a huge fan of the 60% form factor which eliminates the arrow keys. I can see the argument for them, but 60% is considerably smaller.

    A good read, I’m a huge fan of the 60% form factor which eliminates the arrow keys. I can see the argument for them, but 60% is considerably smaller.

  • iPad Productivity Report — 3/26/18

    Continued thoughts on why the iPad Pro is really the best computer people can buy right now.

    Some apps are really starting to get good, and the tools are really shining through, let’s take another moment to talk about why *most* people don’t actually need anything more than an iPad Pro.

    After all, *what’s a computer?*

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  • It’s About Care

    Some thoughts on podcasting, long ass blog posts, and stuff like that.

    I’ve long been critical of two things: overly long blog posts, and podcasts. I’ve done both, to be clear, but I’ve come to realize that both of these things suffer from one core problem: a distinct lack of care.

    > If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.
    > – [Someone, depending on who you ask](https://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/04/28/shorter-letter/)

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  • Facebook’s Surveillance Machine

    Zeynep Tufekci: Mr. Grewal is right: This wasn’t a breach in the technical sense. It is something even more troubling: an all-too-natural consequence of Facebook’s business model, which involves having people go to the site for social interaction, only to be quietly subjected to an enormous level of surveillance. The results of that surveillance are…

    Zeynep Tufekci:

    Mr. Grewal is right: This wasn’t a breach in the technical sense. It is something even more troubling: an all-too-natural consequence of Facebook’s business model, which involves having people go to the site for social interaction, only to be quietly subjected to an enormous level of surveillance. The results of that surveillance are used to fuel a sophisticated and opaque system for narrowly targeting advertisements and other wares to Facebook’s users.

    It’s a breach of the most basic level of trust, hell all levels of trust.

  • Mark One from Studio Neat

    Months ago, Studio Neat sent me a note to ask if I wanted to test their take on a pen — and of course I did. I’ve been waiting for this to see the light of day, because it’s a fantastic pen. I have a prototype that slightly varies from the final production version, but I…

    Months ago, Studio Neat sent me a note to ask if I wanted to test their take on a pen — and of course I did. I’ve been waiting for this to see the light of day, because it’s a fantastic pen. I have a prototype that slightly varies from the final production version, but I still waited to post this link until I backed the project on Kickstarter.

    This pen is worth your money and time.

  • First Look: Aer’s Tech Pack

    A couple weeks in with Aer’s latest backpack offering.

    Note: this backpack was sent to me for review purposes.

    Aer has built a brand around well-designed, purpose-built, bags. From their excellent Travel Pack, to the hybrid EDC-Gym backpacks they are known for. They recently released a new line they are calling “Work Collection” which as the name implies is for those who need a bag for work, not for travel or gym/work. The designs in this collection stand out as they all utilize a coated nylon as a key feature.

    The Tech Pack is the largest offering of this collection and is what we’ll be talking about today in a brief post as I’ve only had it a couple of weeks.

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  • Airlines and Airports

    My many thoughts on air travel that I’ve come to believe is worth a post.

    Some random musings and thoughts about air travel, which I have been observing over the last couple of years of travel for work and pleasure. Your mileage may vary.

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  • EVERGOODS CPL24 Initial Thoughts at Red Teams

    I really want to love this bag as it looks really good, but every time I see real world photos I am glad I didn’t buy one. The bags always look dirty, dusty, and covered in dog hair. And that’s not a knock on reviewers, but rather I suspect the face fabric on these bags…

    I really want to love this bag as it looks really good, but every time I see real world photos I am glad I didn’t buy one. The bags always look dirty, dusty, and covered in dog hair. And that’s not a knock on reviewers, but rather I suspect the face fabric on these bags is a dirt/hair magnet. Too bad, maybe version 2 of them can correct that. Or maybe I’m dead wrong, but the pictures don’t seem to lie.

  • Better News Using an iPad

    My news reading strategy.

    A popular [post last week](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/07/technology/two-months-news-newspapers.html) was from Farhad Manjoo, where he talked about his experience only reading newspapers for two months (or [maybe not](https://brooksreview.net/2018/03/farhad-manjoo-didnt-unplug/)). In the article, Manjoo wonders how he can replicate something similar in a digital landscape — and this is more or less what I’ve been doing on my iPad. So let me detail how I got over my “all-the-news–right-now” addiction and moved to something much more manageable and sane.

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  • Farhad Manjoo Didn’t Unplug

    Dan Mitchell taking Manjoo to task: After trying, and failing, to get him to own up to the fact that his assertion that he had “unplugged” from social media was not true, I asked him whether perhaps his use of social media was messing with his own self-perception. He didn’t respond to that question.

    Dan Mitchell taking Manjoo to task:

    After trying, and failing, to get him to own up to the fact that his assertion that he had “unplugged” from social media was not true, I asked him whether perhaps his use of social media was messing with his own self-perception. He didn’t respond to that question.